1. Field of Inventions
The field of this application, and any resulting patent, is multi-compartment beverage containers.
2. Description of Related Art
This application, and any resulting patent, relates to multi-chamber beverage containers. People the world over consume mixed drinks—sometimes such drinks are a mixture of alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages, carbonated and non-carbonated beverages, flavorings and water, nutritional supplements and water, or any combination of fluids and/or fluid compatible ingredients. Sometimes the combination of such ingredients may produce an unsavory flavor if they are mixed with one another for some extended period of time. One component may settle, absorb carbonation or otherwise react with the other components. Usually, the flavor of these mixed drinks is optimized by consuming the beverage immediately after mixing the constituents. As a result, the component fluids are usually kept in separate containers until they are mixed.
For example, when a beverage such as a wine spritzer is mixed, the wine and carbonated beverage are mixed only immediately before consumption. Otherwise, the adverse affect of the wine and carbonated beverage when they are combined for some extended period of time would render the drink unpalatable. The wine often acquires a bitter taste, while the carbonated beverage becomes “flat.” The same general effects are observed as an alcoholic beverage such as rum is mixed with cola or fruit juice.
Because of the adverse effects associated with the extended mixing of certain components of common mixed drinks, these components are often stored separately until immediately before consumption. Individuals must therefore mix drinks. Not only is such mixing tedious, but the process is inherently imprecise, resulting in some drinks that are much stronger or weaker than others. Additionally, the ingredients are stored separately and tend to be depleted at different times, making it difficult to maintain an inventory of adequate amounts of all constituents of a mixed drink.
Recognizing the advantages that a multi-compartment container would provide, innovators have conceived various multi-chamber containers over the years, including structures disclosed in the patents appearing on the face of this patent. However, those structures do not have all the features of the structures covered by the patent claims below, and the structures claimed in this issued patent solve many of the problems found in many of the structures in those earlier patents, have unpredictable benefits, and overcome many shortcomings inherent in those earlier structures.